2S2G* - Trail of Ten Waterfalls - Day 6, Wed., June 18

*2S2G = Two Susans to Go

Early to rise this morning. For breakfast I had some of Mom's homemade cinnamon bread (toasted) and a chocolate banana protein smoothie. So scrumptious.

Mom, Susan M. and I headed out at 8:45 a.m. to do a 6K (3.7 mi.) Volksmarch in Sherwood, Oregon. Susan M. calls it "the Sherwood forest" walk. The paved trail meanders through the woods along a wetland between housing developments, but you feel like you're out in the forest.

Mom (with bakery box in hand) and me in Sherwood

Two Susans on the trail in Sherwood.

At the halfway point of the walk, we stopped at Sweet Story Bakery in Sherwood to buy some delectable bars. Mom and I chose raspberry-peach and Susan opted for plain raspberry. We had a couple of bites, but Susan and I saved ours for our 12K (7.3 mi) hike at Silver Falls State Park.

We then took Mom grocery shopping at her favorite grocery store where she can buy organic produce and grass-fed or free range meats. She also wanted to try oat milk. Did you know you can buy cashew milk, hemp milk, and a whole variety of other milks? We found out you can.

Mom and Susan M. checking out the produce

After we dropped mom off at her house with the bounty of groceries, we unloaded all of our travel belongings in her house and hit the highway on our way to Silverton, Oregon where we signed in for the Silver Falls Trail of Ten Falls Volksmarch. (NOTE: We didn't want to leave everything in the car while we hiked for hours.)

Mom's gorgeous lilies.

At Silver Falls State Park, we hopped out of the car, geared up with our hiking poles, hats, hiking boots, sunglasses, sunscreen, and bakery goods then headed out on the trail. What a gorgeous day! Sunshine with a slight breeze filled the canyon at the park. Even though we hiked 7.4 miles with ups and downs, we were in the shade a majority of the time so we didn't get too hot. At the end of the day, we saw the temperature was 83 degrees.

Here are our photos of this lovely park and the Trail of Ten Falls.

Susan behind South Falls (177')

Click to enlarge the following photo to see people walking behind the falls. That will give you some idea how large Lower South Falls is!

Lower South Falls (93') with trail behind it.

Lower North Falls (30')

Double Falls (178')

Drake Falls (27')

Middle North Falls (106')

Susan on the sun-dappled trail.

Huge, moss-covered trees by the trail.

Yellow monkey flower, cousin to the snapdragon

Wild blackberries encroaching on the trail!

North Falls (136')

The natural grotto behind North Falls

Susan savoring her raspberry bar while looking out at
North Falls.

North Falls from the grotto.

Underside of maidenhair ferns.

Rocky stairs to go up from North Falls.

Upper North Falls.

Susan happy because our 12K is almost finished.

What a wonderful hike. I highly recommend this Trail of Ten Falls to anyone who loves walking or hiking. There are stairs, and ups and downs on the trail, but with time and rest, you will be richly rewarded for the effort. Best time of year to go: May or early June when the falls are at their peak.

We visited Mom briefly to re-load all our gear and eat some left-overs from the day before. Believe me when I say, we do not pack light! I think we thought of just about everything!

Our drive to the motel for our next five nights took 45 minutes. Rush hour was over in downtown Portland! Woo hoo.

When we arrived at the motel, we used two of the wheeled carts to haul all our stuff up to the room. I think we each made two trips! That's a lot of stuff.

Then we turned in for the night to be ready for the Columbia Gorge Biennial Classic Volksmarching weekend which starts tomorrow.

Travel Bug out.